Project Success was initiated to identify the good things that happen in American public education. One thousand administrators nationwide, identified by their peers as successful were asked to describe their leadership characteristics and beliefs about education. Responses were received from 491 administrators. Chapter 1 presents sample…

While the research on managerial third party intervention recommends that managers use a mode of intervention that allows disputants to maintain control of decisions, or mediation, it simultaneously concludes that these models are difficult for managers to follow within the restrictions of their managerial role. The paper argues that the research…

Group decision support systems (GDDS) represent a technological aid for the decision-making process, combining communication, computers, and decision technologies to support problem formulation and solution in group meetings. A study examined communicative influence strategies used in a GDDS meeting. Subjects, 201 high- and low-influence persons…

In education, multimedia is being merged with hypermedia and hypertext to create learning situations for students of all types--situations that have implications for communication scholars. As the new multimedia, interactive technologies become more affordable and more accessible, communication scholars will face two interrelated sets of issues:…

Many scholars have examined the jeremiad in American rhetoric and political discourse. The Hanford Education Action League (HEAL), which influenced policy changes in the operations of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington, is a social movement organization whose founding members used the jeremiad to create a symbolic community which…

This paper examines elements that support the creation of a Motivational Learning Environment. Is it possible to motivate students or should educators focus their energy on creating a motivational learning environment in which students become self-directed and self-motivated learners? The paper focuses on the topics of paradigms, purpose, people,…

Much of what characterizes, critiques, defines and describes an educator's profession and practice occurs in the form of documents which get delivered every day to the faculty mailroom. These documents are connected to cultural processes which establish hierarchies of power, exclude individuals from decision making, and foster an illusion of the…

Academic institutions document their rhetoric through the written communications that show up in faculty mailboxes. Much of what arrives serves to remind faculty of what needs to be done to participate in the events and decision-making processes of the institution. The mail encountered by graduate students also reflects hierarchical power inherent…

This publication presents essays (that represent some of the views expressed at a conference) on the participation of black students in overseas educational exchange programs. The aim is to suggest models for increasing the participation of black students in such programs and for improving the quality of their experience overseas. The six essays…

This paper attempts to blend the literature on professionalism with the literature of community, thus positing a framework for a school-based professional community. Sociologists have long distinguished between occupations--even high status ones--and professions. Among the key distinctions of professionalism are: a technical knowledge base shared…

This paper offers a process for organizational decision making that will assist educators involved in school restructuring. The first part, which focuses on the nature of theory and the relationship of theory to practice, concludes that current organizational theory on decision making is inadequate. The next section outlines four stages of a…

Building managers and owners often confront competing demands to reduce operating costs and increase revenues that can siphon funds and resources from other building management concerns such as indoor air quality (IAQ). This resource booklet, designed for use with the "Building Air Quality Guide," provides building owners and managers with an…

The objective of a graduate course at North Dakota State University was to move students beyond a prescriptive approach for conducting qualitative research to a holistic consideration of the ethical dimensions involved in qualitative methods. Successive discussions allowed students the opportunity to fully consider ethics in a multi-faceted…

Findings of a study that examined how differences among education faculty's organizational perspectives and behaviors influence leadership are presented in this paper. Bolman and Deal's (1984) model of organizational frames, or ways in which individuals relate to organizations, was used to identify political, symbolic, human resource, and…

This study, proposed by the West Virginia School Boards Association at the request of the West Virginia Legislature's Oversight Committee was designed to examine the kinds of decisions and nature of actions of local school boards in West Virginia between July 1985 and July 1990. A qualitative research design consisting of emergent category…